A Grundo Called Essy
by Tayk
Summary: I sat on the cold, hard cement floor and stared at my green feet... (one shot)


_Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned I claim Essy, Lambsear, and any other characters here as my own.  
_

I sat on the cold, hard cement floor and stared at my green feet. The feeble light coming through the barred door was just barely enough to see by. But suddenly, the light went out. It was the fifth time this week. Someone had come to look at me, hopefully to let me stay with them. But, no one ever adopted me, and if they did… it was only long enough to put me back in the pound.

Still, I turned to look at the person behind me. She had a friendly face, and she was smiling. She was smiling. She was smiling. No matter how many times I thought that, it didn't sound right. No one before had ever smiled at me. But… she was smiling. At me. It was such a warm smile, even though I was in the pound, I couldn't help but forget how lonely, hungry, and miserable I was. I even smiled back.

"What's your name, little one?" she asked in a soft voice. It was a rhetorical question; my name and stats were listed right outside my… "cage". "Esthraus104… Well, I don't really like a lot of numbers… but I just love you, Esthraus!" She turned to the pink uni behind her. The uni that had fed me what little I did eat, played with me that one time a month that was required. And the uni that had never refused to put me back in my "cage".

"I'll take her," said my new owner. I felt my heart speed up. Every time someone said those words, I couldn't help but get excited. The uni nodded, and unlocked my cage. I stood up on my small legs, and walked towards the door. She bent down and picked me up, paid the uni 86 neopoints, and walked away with me in her arms.

As we walked towards the pound exit, it got brighter. At last, we walked out the doors. I shielded my eyes form the bright sun, and she smiled down at me. A little while passed, and my eyes adjusted to the sunshine. I lowered my hand.

"So, Essy -mind if I call you Essy?-, what color would you like to be painted?" she asked after a minute. I looked up, and my eyes met hers. I thought hard.

"You can call me Essy if you want to. I've always wanted to be faerie…" My voice was weak and puny sounding, even to me. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I've always envied faerie Grundos. Could I be a faerie, do you think?" She smiled at me, and nodded.

"Thanks so much !" I started, but stopped short. I didn't know her name!

"Raven."

"Thanks so much, Raven!" Raven smiled again. I loved her smile. Raven set me down, and I walked by her, holding her hand and grateful to be exercising at last! We walked down the road quite a ways before we came to a big neohome. It was huge, way more than enough for Raven and just one pet. I would have siblings. Raven opened the door, and led me inside.

"Lambsear! Lambsear, come meet your new sister!" called Raven upon opening the door. There was the click of nails on tile, and down the stairs came a baby Cybunny. He looked at me, then at Raven, then back at me.

"Hello. What's your name?" he said.

"My name is Esthraus. And I guess you're Lambsear?"

"Yeah." Raven walked over to the little Cybunny, and whispered something in his rather large ear. Lambsear's eyes brightened. He beckoned for me to follow, and then scampered off. I sprinted after him, trying to think of where we could be going, speeding down main street at such a pace.

"Lambsear, where are we going? And, could you slow down? I'm not used to running." I called. Lambsear slowed down, and I caught up.

"We're going to get Raven's faerie paint brush out of the Safety deposit box."

"Oh," I said, and then paused. "Oh!"

"Come on!" And he set off again, slower now. I kept up, though just barely.

When we got to the bank, Lambsear told the bank skeith Raven's user name (daisy8516), and we gained access to the safety deposit box. After rooting around for a little while, the little Cybunny found the mystical faeire paint brush, and he carefully carried it home.

Raven was waiting by the door, and as we came up, Lambsear held the paint brush out to her.

"Thanks. Esthraus, do you want to go now, or wait till you've explored the house?"

"Let's go now, I guess."

"Alright, then. Lambsear, would you like to watch?" My brother nodded, and we set off towards the Rainbow Pool.

"You currently have one magical paint brush! Would you like to paint a pet?"

"Yes, I would."

"Please select a paint brush."

"Faerie."

"Please select a pet."

"Esthraus104."

Almost immediately, my skin started to turn from green to dark blue with white spots, and I started to grow wings. I turned my head, and flapped my wings, then smiled a huge, bright smile. When I was all done and painted, we all walked home together, human owner, baby Cybunny, and faerie Grundo.

Well, soon enough we were home and Lambsear volunteered to give me a tour of the huge house. First, we explored the kitchen and dining room, then the lounge, games room, and library. Then we went into the movie room, pantry (who knew a pantry could be so big?), the gym, the play room, and the gardens. There were an ok amount of gardens, big enough to play in, but not too big.

Then we went upstairs and looked around.

There were five bedrooms, and Raven only had two pets, so it was easy to assume she planned on getting more pets. There was one room that was full of petpets, and another full of toys. Yet another was full of spare furniture, and still two more were full of stuffed-to-the-brim closets, dressers, and wardrobes. One room housed school supplies, and I wondered why all this stuff was here instead of Raven's Safety Deposit Box. When I asked Lambsear, he just said that Raven likes to keep her house full of stuff.

"Although," he added, "Rae still puts the really valuable stuff in her Safety Deposit Box."

I took a peek in Lambsear's room, and found (not surprisingly) that it had wallpaper of baby food, which, he claimed, was better than any other food. I can't imagine why. Lambsear woke up his petpet, an Angelpuss named Rhia, and showed me how she jumps and purrs if you say "Hiya, Rhia! Hey, I'm a poet, and I didn't know it!"

We went into Raven's room, which was decorated with Darigan ixi and peophin ornaments. I have to admit, those are the least ugly Darigan pets. Her walls were decorated with Speckled Acaras, and there were pictures of different neopets with names under them, and I assumed that Raven had neofriends with these pets. I admired one of them, a white Usul named Usamajor, because he looked like a happy little boy.

The last room we went into was my room. Lambsear scampered out as soon as I stepped in, closing the door behind him. I guess he wanted me to get used to my room.

At first, I thought I was in the wrong room, because it was huge! It was the biggest room I had ever been in, but that wasn't saying a lot. The wallpaper had prints of faeries and faerie pets all over it, and the room was heavily furnished. I opened a big wooden box in one corner, and found it to be full of petpet supplies, complete with a feepit on top of them! I gasped in delight, and picked the thing up. It made a soft purring noise.

"Can I call you Fred?"

More purring noises.

I smiled, set up a petpet bed with a canopy over it, and let Fred down. He crawled into the bed, and fell asleep. I sighed in pleasure, and looked towards my own bed. It was a big bed! It was a Kauvara bed, too. Kauvara beds were rare, but there in my very own room was one! I flopped down onto it.

After a while, I'd gotten used to my new room, so I opened the door to see if Lambsear wanted to play. I found Raven instead.

"Hey, Essy. I'm going to go shopping for a little while. Lambsear is up in his room taking a nap. Please don't go out by yourself because it's getting dark and I don't want the Shadow Usul to get you." I nodded. Raven put on her jacket, patted me on the head, and left.

I decided to go to the biggest room in the house, the gym, and try my wings. My wings worked just fine, and after a while, I started to get hungry. So, I went to the kitchen, and found some Bacon Omelette, and Lime Jelly in the Snow Fridge, both which I happened to love.

After eating, I felt better and went into the library. I read The Magic Paw, which happened to be very good, and Little Timmy's Story.

I decided to go and pick some flowers from the garden, to surprise Raven with when she got home. I didn't remember Raven's warning about the Shadow Usul.

I picked a flower here and a flower there in the receding light. As I stood up, the window in front of my face reflected two bright, yellow eyes. My own eyes widened as I realized to whom the belonged and ran for the nearest door, which was not too far away. I was too slow, and I felt claws on my back and wings. It burned, like my back was on fire! The force of the blow sent me flying forward, and knocked the flowers from my hand.

I landed on my back, and saw Lambsear looking down at me from above, through his window. He looked scared. However, the very last thing I saw before everything went black was two yellow eyes and a black tail disappearing into the darkness.

, (POV switch)

I finished up my shopping, and walked home. Most of the lights were on when I got there, and that should have set off the little alarms in my head. Lambsear was an energy freak; he never did anything more than turn on one or two lights at a time.

I opened the door, and set my bags on the table.

"I'm home!" I called. "Lambsear? Esthraus?" Lambsear came tumbling down the stairs in a flurry. His eyes were wide, his ears were back, and he looked generally terrified. That DID set off the alarms in my head. Lambsear is almost never scared. I bent down and scooped him up.

"Lambsear, what's wrong? Where's Esthraus?"

"Backyard. Picking flowers. Shadow Usul. Help her!" Lambsear panted. I didn't really understand, but I knew that someone was in the back yard picking flowers, and was attacked by the Shadow Usul. I set the baby Cybunny down, and tore out the door, into the back yard. Esthraus was there, but she was limp... Unmoving... I picked her up carefully. There were gashes all across her back. I cradled her in my arms, and walked back inside.

"Lambsear, I'm going to need your toy car. You know the one, right?" I watched my little Cybunny nod quickly, then scamper to the front of the house, and bring back his Red Toy Car. I didn't exactly think this was a good idea... but I wasn't about to just stand there and do nothing! I ran over and set one foot on it, using the other to propel myself along, towards the Neopian Hospital, cradling Esthraus carefully in my arms.

"Where's the doctor?" I said in a panic, bursting through the hospital doors. The gelert doctor appeared and looked at Essy, then nodded slightly and carefully took her. I watched sadly as my little Essy was placed on a stretcher and wheeled away, then shook my head and walked back outside. I set one foot on Lambsear's Red Toy Car, and started home. We would come back in the morning and see her.

Lambsear was laying on the floor in tears when I got home. I immediately took him in my arms and asked what in the world the matter was.

"I- I could have - could have helped h-her!" he gasped between sobs. "But - But I just - just stayed in my r-r-room and - and watched!"

"Lambsear, what could you have possibly done? The Shadows Usul doesn't take prisoners, and I would have been taking _both_ my little neopets to the hospital. I'm glad you wanted to help, but its better that you didn't," I soothed. He hiccupped, but admitted that I was right.

I rocked him for a while, until he calmed down, and then put him to bed. I could tell he was upset –I was, too, after all- but I knew that Essy would be alright. Neopets can't die.

The next morning, as promised, Lambsear and I walked to the Neopian Hospital. We checked in with the nurse at the front desk, who promptly called for the gelert doctor. He greeted us kindly, and then seemed to be trying to remember me. After a minute, he smiled a bit and led us through the doors.

After walking for a moment, with me carrying Lambsear, I heard my baby Cybunny make a small sound; somewhere between a gasp of horror and a sigh of sorrow. My eyes grew slightly wet as I saw Essy, arranged carefully of her stomach, bandaged heavily and unconscious.

The doctor looked at us sadly. "We're doing all we can," he said sadly. His voice was slightly husky as he continued: "but –to be frank- it doesn't look good. She's our most serious case… The rest are just Hoochie Coochies and the Neoflu and such." Lambsear put his paws over his eyes and shook his ears, long ears flapping slightly.

"Thank you for letting us see her," I whispered sadly. The doctor nodded, and beckoned to the door. Hugging Lambsear tightly, in hopes of comforting him, I walked through the door. We walked slowly home, each of us mulling various things over in thought.

As soon as we got home, in hopes of cheering up our bad spirits, I offered to take Lambsear to the concert hall. He agreed with a watery, tear-filled smile, and we set off again. We walked through the Neopian Bazaar, and I made sure to buy Lambsear a White Chocolate Cybunny cookie as we passed.

We caught a boat to Tyrannia then saw the sights as we walked to the Ticket Booth. Lambsear was looking happier already, and it only added to the effect that his favorite band – Yes Boy Ice-Cream – was playing.

"C'mon! Let's go! Please, can we go now?" asked Lambsear, the second I'd bought our ticket.

"Ok, let's go," I said, chuckling slightly. He cheered and scampered ahead of me to the concert hall.

"Tickets!" demanded the Myncii standing guard. I handed him our ticket, took Lambsear's paw, and led him inside. After several minutes of listening to the booming music of dancing shoyrus, Lambsear had had his fill of it and we felt happily. But, there was that slight nagging feeling at the back of my mind that Essy wasn't doing so well. I always shook it off, assuring myself that Neopets aren't able to die.

We went back, every day for two weeks, Lambsear and I to the hospital. Every day, we were allowed less and less time with Essy. It, frankly, didn't look good. I could see Lambsear – slowly – starting to get over seeing her attacked.

One day, though, the gelert doctor turned us away completely. "Not today," he kept repeating. "Not today." So, we didn't see her that day. Or the next day. Or the next. By the fourth day, I was worried and more than a little upset. Lambsear didn't seem to know what was going on (I didn't either), but he kept asking questions. I didn't tell him anything. What could I possibly say?

The next day, when we ventured the walk to the hospital, the gelert doctor didn't say anything. With one glance at us, he hung his head sadly. I gasped, not wanting to believe it. He lifted his head and looked at me sadly, regretfully. I bit my bottom lip and nodded slightly, then rushed Lambsear away. He hadn't realized what I had. Had he? I hoped not. Tears streamed silently down my cheeks as we walked home. Lambsear saw me crying and tried to comfort me. I should have been comforting him. But, he was just a baby. Literally. I couldn't tell him… it would break his heart.

"Raven, what's wrong?" Lambsear asked after I refused to let him visit Essy. It was the day after… after the gelert doctor had shaken his head. I had to tell him. Have you ever tried to say no to a baby Cybunny?

"Essy is… Essy isn't well. Not well at all, Lambsear." I said shakily.

"Does she have the sneezles?" Lambsear asked innocently, looking apprehensive.

"No… It was the Shadow Usul…"

"But…" Realization dawned on my baby cybunny's face. His eyes welled up with tears. "But… neopets can't die… can they?" I thought about this. TNT had always told us that your neopets don't die. But, then, what about the Brain Tree? Why does he always ask about dead neopets? I hesitated a moment too long.

"Raven, tell me no! Tell me!" Lambsear pleaded, tears spilling onto his face.

"I… I don't know, ok? I just… don't… know anymore…" I gasped, bursting into tears again. I was making a fool of myself, and I knew it fully well. But I couldn't help it. I grabbed Lambsear and hugged him. We cried together.

After a minute or two, I managed to calm down. Slightly. Lambsear was still sniffling when I took him by the paw and led him outside. Deliberately, I took Lambsear to the most fun places I could think of. I took him to the Ruins of Maraqua, to visit the Snowager (when he was asleep, of course), and to the Tyranian Concert hall. Mynci was playing.

"Not as good as Yes Boy Ice Cream," Lambsear told me afterwards, "but not bad." We shopped the Wiz for a while, and I got Lambsear some new toys. After a fun-filled day, with his adopted sister driven from his mind, Lambsear collapsed into bed. The next morning, he was his bright and chipper self.

Life went on. I think Lambsear forgot Essy almost completely. Neither of us ever mentioned her. I adopted two more pets for Lambsear to play with: Ari the jubjub and Static the Meerca. I found a Nerkmid one day and sold it for a fortune. Essy the Faerie Grundo was driven from our minds for a long time.

Then, when Lambsear and I went for a walk alone, I glanced up and saw a mysterious sight. Shimmering so that I could hardly see it, a faerie Grundo – dark blue flecked with white spots- flew above my head. It spun in the air, and I thought I saw three long, thin scars from one wing to the other. But I wasn't sure.

I rushed Lambsear into our Neohome. He hadn't seen the faerie Grundo, and I'd been afraid to point it out to him. But, Essy was restored in my mind. Vividly so. I wanted – needed to tell someone. Anyone. But how can any owner understand? Has any other pet other been hurt so badly by a myth – a legend? Even one as real as the Shadow Usul? No, I was able to answer myself. No, Essy was an exception. So, who could I possibly tell?

I wrote it down. It was a simple solution. Where is this diary of mine – into which I told my entire, sad story? It's here. You've just finished reading it.

_A/N: This was my NT entry. I don't think it got in, but I still love it and want people to read it. Don't worry - Essy never really got attacked by anything other than the Snowager (whom I do not claim). Dedicated to Essy's owner - daisy8516. Do you wanna drop a review, or not?_  



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